Local News
Harley Collins, 19, of Dora, died Jan. 14 in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 160 in South Fork.
Dora teen Harley Collins lived a vibrant life, true to himself and the things that meant the most to him - his loved ones, his old Chevy truck and the wide-open fields and forests of the Ozarks outdoors.
Following Harley’s tragic Jan. 14 death in a car crash on Highway 160 in South Fork, it seems...
Aidan Murphy, 17, son of David and Gayla Murphy of Gainesville, attended the Chiefs vs. Titans playoff game with his dad Sunday in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. The pair stayed for the presentation of the AFC Lamar Hunt trophy after the Chiefs’ victory and then lingered until the stadium was almost empty.
Ozark County native Clay Pettit, an Army colonel currently serving in the Pentagon, is a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. That’s why he was up on the roof of his cousins’ Isabella home Sunday, trying to hook up the TV antenna.
Clay had come back to Missouri for the weekend to watch the Chiefs’...
William Randolph Hearst, who inherited his father’s newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner in 1887, was nicknamed “Billy Buster” by his parents George and Phoebe Hearst. The name inspired Hearst’s co-worker Richard Outcaul to create a comic strip featuring Billy Buster, a boy with similar traits to Hearst. After Outcault sold an advertising license for the character to George Warren Brown of Brown Shoe Company in St. Louis, Brown’s portrayal of the Buster Brown character took hold, and Buster Brown became a household name in the early 1900s. The success of Buster Brown in the shoe industry and other marketing avenues was long lived, and families coast to coast recognized the name for nearly a century. It’s thought that the term’s widespread popularity may be linked to the name given to a site near Howards Ridge where today’s J Highway crosses Lick Creek.
The spot on J Highway where the bridge now crosses Lick Creek is indicated on older topographical maps of Ozark County as an historical spot. On some maps it is referred to as “Billy Buster Ford” and on others as “Billy Buster Crossing.”
Unfortunately, the background for designating this...
Davidson
Human remains found by an Ava-area farmer Jan. 13 could be those of Rex Davidson, an Ozark County resident who disappeared Oct. 31, 2018. At this point, officers say foul play has not been ruled out.
Identification of the remains, which are said to have been badly deteriorated when they were...
A meeting was held Jan. 16 in Ava to present development options for the new Bryant Creek State Park, in Douglas County a few miles north of Rockbridge. Proposed features include primitive camping locations, hiking and multi-use trails, and three possible locations for day-use areas.
Thirty-four people attended an open-house-style public meeting last week in Ava, where representatives of Missouri State Parks presented development options for Bryant Creek State Park. The proposed plans for the park, in Douglas County off N Highway a few miles north of Rockbridge, were based on...
Ozark County residents Jane and Andy Elder have worked for years to keep the art of square dancing alive. Ozarks Alive photo/Kaitlyn McConnell
Editor’s note: This story, originally published in Kaitlyn McConnell’s Ozarks Alive! blog, is reprinted with permission. To read more of McConnell’s posts about the people and places of the Ozarks, visit www.ozarksalive.com.
Few hands, feet and hearts nowadays know the longtime partner of old-...
Ruud
The scheduled Jan. 27 murder trial for Theodosia-area resident Rebecca Ruud will likely be rescheduled, due to an unexpected complication – the disappearance of the son of Circuit Judge Calvin Holden, who is assigned to the case.
The expected cancellation and resetting of Ruud’s trial will be...
Harley Collins, 19, of Dora, died Jan. 14 in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 160 in South Fork.
Dora teen Harley Collins lived a vibrant life, true to himself and the things that meant the most to him - his loved ones, his old Chevy truck and the wide-open fields and forests of the Ozarks outdoors.
Following Harley’s tragic Jan. 14 death in a car crash on Highway 160 in South Fork, it...
Aidan Murphy, 17, son of David and Gayla Murphy of Gainesville, attended the Chiefs vs. Titans playoff game with his dad Sunday in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. The pair stayed for the presentation of the AFC Lamar Hunt trophy after the Chiefs’ victory and then lingered until the stadium was almost empty.
Ozark County native Clay Pettit, an Army colonel currently serving in the Pentagon, is a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. That’s why he was up on the roof of his cousins’ Isabella home Sunday, trying to hook up the TV antenna.
Clay had come back to Missouri for the weekend to watch the Chiefs’...
Tecumseh mess: Except for a few months last spring, the Tecumseh access has been barricaded to vehicle traffic for nearly two years. The US Army Corps of Engineers says work should begin soon to repair the access, which was heavily damaged during the record April 2017 flood. The Corps said the project, which includes rebuilding the road, parking lot and boat ramp, should be completed in May if there are no complications from high water or winter weather. Times photo/Jessi Dreckman
The work to rebuild the Tecumseh boat ramp and road at the Norfork Lake access on Highway 160 should begin this month, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer project manager Mark Case. The project’s timeline has shifted about a month later than it was original projected, he said.
Case...